In an increasingly competitive environment, educational institutions such as colleges and universities strive to identify, solicit and maintain the interest of qualified candidates. This often requires that the educational institution use various techniques to communicate with and retain the interest of interested candidates over a prolonged period of time.
As described in the above referenced applications, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein, traditional methods of communicating with interested candidates includes mailing brochures, catalogues and blank applications to any candidate who has expressed even the slightest interest in attending the educational institution. The educational institution may also use automatic phone dialing service to ascertain and evaluate a candidate's level of interest in attending the educational institution. The educational institution also may sponsor or participate in various receptions, college fairs, open houses, and campus visits. These traditional methods of communication and recruitment may involve significant expense including the cost of selecting appropriate materials, mailing, staff salaries and travel expenses. Moreover, these methods are often limited in their ability to target specific groups of candidates or otherwise fulfill the educational institution's recruitment goals.
The specific recruitment goals and objectives of an individual educational institution, such as a college or university, generally reflect a variety of internal and external factors. These factors may be related to diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, geographic location of candidate, athletic ability, scholastic ability, etc. Each educational institution generally has its own unique set of criteria for the type of candidate that will allow the educational institution to meet its particular goals and objectives. For example, one educational institution may want to become more ethnically diverse while another may want to recruit more women interested in sports. The recruitment goals and criteria used to achieve those goals may vary widely for each individual educational institution. Consequently, there is a need for a systematic approach with sufficient flexibility to accommodate these diverse requirements.
As previously explained in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/633,897, the disclosure of which has been incorporated by reference, a college or university often receives inquiries from prospective candidates expressing an interest in the educational institution or its programs. These initial inquiries can be received as early as the candidate's freshman year in high school and in some instances even earlier. These inquiries may also come in various forms such as correspondence, e-mail, telephone, contact with a recruiter, or the receipt of PSAT or SAT scores. As discussed in the above referenced applications, potentially interested candidates may also be identified based on databases that are collected or provided by various regional or national sources.
Depending on the source of the information, the information provided generally includes the candidate's identity and personal contact information. The candidate data base may also provide additional personal information such as gender, race, ethnicity, relationships with alumni, scholastic and sports interests, etc. The available information about a potential candidate, from whatever source, is typically entered into an educational institution's candidate database. This candidate database is often called an “inquiry pool.” Depending upon the nature and size of the educational institution, the number of candidates in an educational institution's candidate data base or inquiry pool may be 100,000 or more.
The traditional application and supporting admission materials are normally prepared and distributed using a “one size fits all” approach. However, since desirable candidates are often considering a number of different educational institutions, the lack of personalization and the burden and expense of acquiring and completing a traditional application form may adversely impact a desirable candidate's interest in completing or submitting an application. Thus, there is a need for improved methods to facilitate the recruitment and application process of educational institutions.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/633,897 describes a novel method for generating applications for enrollment at educational institutions. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/931,749 describes a novel method for electronically surveying prospective candidates for admission to educational institutions and encouraging interest in attending. The invention describes an additional method that may be utilized by an educational institution to achieve its recruitment and application objectives.
The method is directed towards increasing applications for admission from interested candidates that have been identified based on the educational institution's specific recruiting goals and objectives. The method also permits personalized follow up communications with candidates and the contemporaneous monitoring, evaluation and reporting of application related information for selected target groups. The method dramatically reduces the cost of ascertaining the interest of the candidates and the time needed to solicit, receive and process applications from interested candidates.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel method for distributing applications to selected candidates who have expressed a continuing interest in an educational institution.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel method of motivating candidates to provide information relating to their continued interest in enrollment and to submit applications for enrollment.
It is a yet a further object of the invention to provide a novel method for candidates to complete and deliver an application for enrollment at an educational institution as part of a multi-step recruiting and communication program.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel method of increasing the number of applications received by an educational institution from target groups derived from its inquiry pool or other candidate database.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel method of providing candidates with the option of completing a customized electronic application.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method for monitoring and evaluating applications received from specific target groups.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a secure method of electronically submitting applications for admission to educational institutions.
These and many other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.